On January 27, 2026, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs held a commemorative event in the framework of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, under the theme “Bridging Generations.”
In her address, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ms. Elisa Spiropali, highlighted Albania’s example as a moral light in one of the darkest chapters of history. She recalled the words of Prime Minister Edi Rama in the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset: “Albanians yes, Jews no.”
Albania remains the only country in Europe that ended the Second World War with fifteen times more Jews than it had at the beginning of the war, proving that Albania’s moral code and the principle of Besa triumphed over fear and totalitarianism.
With particular pride, the example of Refik Veseli was presented to those in attendance. A patriot from Kruja, and a symbol of Besa and moral courage, he was only 17 years old when he sheltered and saved the Jewish Mandil family, as well as the Jozef brothers, during the Holocaust.
On the Wall of Honor, in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, the name of photographer Refik Veseli is engraved among dozens of Albanians who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews from the Nazis, risking their own lives.
For this act of humanity, he was honored with the title “Righteous Among the Nations,” saying simply: “We did nothing special. We did what had to be done.”
In 2013, a group of young Germans, students from a high school in Berlin, visited Yad Vashem, where they learned about the rescue of Mosha Mandil’s family by the family of the Albanian Muslim photographer Refik Veseli.
This story left a deep impression on the German students. As their school in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Berlin, did not yet have a name, they proposed to the relevant authorities that it be named “Refik Veseli.”
Given the strong symbolism of this story, the National Diaspora Agency, as part of the organizing group of this meaningful commemorative event of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, supported the participation of a group of students and teachers from the “Refik Veseli” School in Berlin. Together with students from the “Sami Frashëri” High School, they planted an olive tree in the courtyard of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs — a symbol of peace, remembrance, and continuity — and contributed to a discussion panel on historical memory and the responsibility of younger generations. The twinning and cooperation between the two high schools were described as real bridges connecting generations and countries.
The messages of the event emphasized the importance of preserving and passing on historical memory, promoting universal human values, and the responsibility of every generation to protect human dignity.
